SAN DIEGO -- A federal judge denied freedom Tuesday to three San Diego men held as material witnesses in connection with this month's terrorist attacks, 10News reported.

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Hear From Witnesses' Attorney

The men appeared in federal court at a hearing Tuesday that was scheduled to determine if there is reason to detain them. A law enforcement official said that they could be sent to New York to testify before a grand jury.

The men, who were arrested over the weekend, were reportedly roommates in a La Mesa apartment. They were identified as Mohbar Abdallah, Osama "Sam" Abdallah and Yazeed Al-Salmi.

They were reportedly cooperating with the FBI before they were arrested. Their lawyer, Randall Hamud (pictured, left), stressed to the media that the men are not suspects in the case.

"Just remember, a material witness is not a suspect, is not a criminal, is not charged with a crime, is oftentimes an American citizen with the full privileges of the constitution of the United States and has to be perceived as such ... because there, but by the grace of God, could go you, or I, or any of us," Hamud said.

"I think the country has to stop acting hysterically and start thinking about where we are headed with this sort of scenario," he said.

Currently about 350 people are being held by authorities nationwide as material witnesses.

Another man who lived in the same apartment complex in La Mesa, Omer Bakarbashat, was already extradited to New York for questioning about what he knew of the suspected hijackers.

One of three men held in San Diego was arrested at a local mosque, according to the Associated Press. Another was taken into custody at FBI offices in San Diego. A third was arrested at gunpoint in the parking lot of an electronics store.

"He was dropping off an employee and then some guys with guns just came out," witness Brett Scott told 10News.

An unidentified government official said that shoppers in the parking lot of the Fry's Electronics store "cheered and applauded" as FBI agents took the man into custody.

Supporters gathered Tuesday outside the federal courthouse in San Diego.

"We feel like we are becoming the target for everything. Even the law enforcement is like ... just because you are Muslim, we're going to get at you. That shouldn't be the approach," one man said.

Another supporter who knew one of the witnesses said that the man was a student at Mesa College. "He's a poor guy, too. He doesn't make much. I don't know him that well, but his friends have told me that he's quite an innocent man," he said.

Friends and relatives of the men say that they were passing acquaintances of suspected hijackers who lived in San Diego before the attacks.

The family of one of the men, Osama Awadallah, issued a statement.

"His family hopes that the current course of events will be resolved soon. Jamal (Osama's brother) and the rest of Sam's family hope that they will be given an opportunity to see Sam soon and let him know that his family supports and loves him. It is his family's position that they will do whatever it takes to assist the authorities in their investigation," the statement read.